Astros Win 2019 ALCS On Dramatic Walk Off Homer

That breeze you felt close to midnight Central time was the entire city of Houston collectively exhaling after Jose Altuve's walk off two run homer that clinched the Astros second American League title in three years and punched their ticket to another trip to the World Series.

And it's always fun when you knock off the Evil Baseball Empire to do it.




After a tense Game 6 in which the Astros took an early 3-0 lead on Yuli Gurriel's 3 run homer in the bottom of the first, the Evil Baseball Empire kept chipping away. 

They got a second inning run after Didi Gregorius doubled and Gary Sanchez singled to cut the deficit to 3-1.   In the fourth a Gio Urshela solo shot into the bullpen trimmed the Astros lead to 3-2.

The Astros got one back after Alex Bregman hit into a fielder's choice to bump the lead to 4-2   

After the Yankees DJ LeMahieu hit the tying two run homer off Astros closer Roberto Osuna into the right field bleachers just inches past the glove of a leaping George Springer to tie the game at 4-4,  the Astros had the daunting task of facing Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth.

Chapman hadn't given up an earned run in 4 2/3 postseason innings, but gave up a two out walk to Springer to set up the dramatic showdown with Altuve.




After taking two Chapman fastballs for balls and a slider for a strike, Altuve blasted an up in the strike zone slider over the wall in left center field for a series clinching 6-4 win that gave the Astros their second American League title in three years and their third World Series appearance as a franchise.

Don't think we Astros fans didn't hear your foul ''Eff Altuve'  chant at Skankee Stadium aimed at him last night.   Altuve got the last laugh last night and the ALCS MVP trophy to go with it.

This just in.  The paternity test came back.  The Astros are the Yankees daddy. 

The Astros have faced the Yankees in the postseason three times (2015,2017, 2019) since joining the American League, and beaten them all three times.    Beating the Yankees tonight also meant that this is the first decade since the 1910's that the Yankees have failed to make it to the World Series.

Speaking of the World Series, that starts on Tuesday with the Astros facing the Washington nationals at Minute maid Park.

Astros Are American League Champions!

I was one of the longtime Astros fans who was not happy when the team was forced to move to the American League starting with the 2013 season as a condition for their sale to current owner Jim Crane.

After enduring a 100 loss season in their first year, and going 70-92 in 2014, the Astros thanks those those three consecutive 100 loss seasons were stockpiling draft picks and signing players like carlos Correia, Jose Altuve, the Astros surprised us with a playoff run that ended with a loss in the 2015 ALCS to the Kansas City Royals.

This 2017 season has been a dream one for Astros fans.   Winning the AL West title for the first time.  Winning 101 games, and knocking off the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS and the New York Skankees Yankees in the ALCS to become the first modern day MLB team to win the National and American League pennant.

As an Astros fan, winning our first American League title against the Yankees was especially satisfying after all the smack they talked when they were playing the middle three games of the ALCS in New York and grabbed a 3-2 series lead after being silent when we were spanking that azz in Houston.

The Evil Baseball Empire has been beaten in 7 ALCS games.   May The Force be with the Astros.   
As I love to say, the best Yankees fans are silent ones.   How you like us now New York? 

Now that we have vanquished the Evil Baseball Empire, the American League champions can now turn their attention to battling an old NL West foe in the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series.

The Dodgers won 105 games and sent the Washington Nationals and defending MLB champion Chicago Cubs to the sidelines enroute to capturing their first National League pennant since 1988.

From 1969 -1994 the Astros played in the NL West division with them until the move to the NL Central as a result of baseball expansion that added the Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and the AL's Tampa Bay Rays to the league.

During that time there was no love lost between the Astros and Dodgers.  We won a one game playoff in 1980 to capture our first NL West crown, and lost to them in the NLDS in the strike shortened 1981 season   

So it won't take us long to get our hate on for the Dodgers.   Hopefully the Astros bats have finally awakened from their near fatal nap in New York and they can make the bold Sports Illustrated cover predicting their World Series triumph this season become a reality

We long suffering Houston sports fans would sure love for that to happen.

We'll find out if it does starting Tuesday in Los Angeles when they kick off Game 1 of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium.

Beat LA!  Beat LA!